Energy is a critical component of modern society and is typically considered a necessity for health, hygiene, communication and as such is required for most devices and applications. In most environments, energy is generally readily available for use as required. However, there are many instances in which the required energy is not readily available, such as in remote geographic areas, austere environments, impoverished regions, disaster areas, and so on. These areas are typically referred to as “off the grid” regions and require access to alternate means to satisfy their energy requirements, such as batteries, generators, and the like. Unfortunately, each of these sources has its inherent disadvantages. For example, batteries are heavy and have limited operational life. Generators require fossil fuel and have significant thermal and acoustic signatures. Further, they are expensive and also have a significant logistics impact. Renewable energy (e.g., solar) often cannot provide continuous, uninterrupted energy. As such, an energy generating device capable of operating without batteries, generators and/or renewable energy would be beneficial, especially in remote environments where it is difficult and/or impracticable to transport the consumable items needed for energy generation.
Similar to the above-mentioned situations in which access to energy may be limited, access to purified, potable water, in situ, continues to face similar challenges in remote locations. For example, current conditions at military bases require the transport of large amounts of water for both drinking and other uses. Currently, drinking water is frequently provided as bottled water and water for other uses, such as laundry and cleaning, is transported to the military base via convoys. This approach of providing water to military personnel not only proves to be cost-inefficient but is also considerably risky, as it requires the use of personnel for transport, thereby taking those individuals away from the mission. Further, a gallon of water is approximately 8 pounds in weight and depending on the size of the team operating in the remote environment (and the expected duration of the mission), the total amount of water required can be of a substantial weight. In a military application where the team often reaches its site by foot, any additional weight can be a highly problematic strain.
Accordingly, it would be beneficial to have a water purification device that is configured to purify water without the need for a generator, fossil fuels or other cumbersome technologies.